Thaicom PCL’s Chief Investment Officer Tanadit Charoenchan has stated that the company expects its loss to narrow in the second quarter from the US$5.5 million recorded in the January-March period.
According to Charoenchan, they still won’t be able to see a profit in the second quarter, but the size of loss will be substantially lower, possibly only half of the first quarter loss.
The company posted a loss in the first quarter because of low usage of its iPSTAR broadband satellite and the weak performance of its mobile phone unit in Cambodia, where competition is fierce.
He stated that however, earnings improvement is expected in the following quarters on the back of greater utilization of its iPSTAR broadband satellite. The company should swing to a profit in the third quarter and remain in the black in the final quarter.
He reiterated that the company will likely achieve its 30% revenue growth and return to profit this year after posting a loss of US$26.05 million last year. Thaicom expects to almost double iPSTAR’s utilization rate to 30% by end-2011 from 15.9% at end-March.
The company is 41.1% owned by Shin Corp. PCL, controlled by units of Singapore’s state-owned investment company Temasek Holdings Pte.
He added that earlier this month, the company secured a A$100 million five-year deal with NBN Co. to provide broadband services via iPSTAR to rural and remote areas in Australia. Including the NBN deal, iPSTAR’s utilization rate will rise to 19.28%.
The company is expected to start realizing revenue from the NBN project from the third quarter onwards.
Thaicom expects to conclude a satellite deal with a major Malaysian telecom operator soon.
Thaicom is currently negotiating with satellite manufacturers for the potential launch of a new conventional satellite, to be used mainly for broadcasting, at an estimated cost of around $150 million to $200 million. The company needs approval from the Thai government before it can conclude any deal.
